Coast to Mountain

aka RadVanAdventures.com on IG.  This is a photo essay blog about #vanlife, #mountainlife, and my lifelong pursuit of outdoor adventure. 

[coasttomountain]

Found in a hidden spot in Northern California. A secret sacred place for memories and hopes. (at Fairfax, California)

[coasttomountain]

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This is the next video from the Valley Fire in Northern California, 2015. I’ve posted a couple of these "front lines" videos just to show a sense of what it’s like (minus the smoke, noise, heat, etc). The current round of fires in Northern California are much worse than shown here. In this video we were assigned to protect a church in the middle of town. By this time the water system had failed and we had about 500 gallons of tank water only. This is an example of having to let every house around burn in order to protect an important structure (the church could serve as a shelter/community center in the recovery). Every house around us burned as we watched and kept the fire from the church. Not shown in this video is the thousands of rounds of ammunition and fireworks going off in in the house next door. (I keep a digital camera in my radio harness. It never interferes with my job). #valleyfire #structureprotection #firedepartment #wildlandfire #fire (at Middletown, California)

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Given the recent wave of fires in Northern California I thought I’d share a couple of videos from the front lines two years ago (with some explanation of what’s going on). This was the Valley Fire, in Middletown, CA. We were one of the first strike teams to arrive as the fire began to burn through town. In the first video, my engine company is doing structure protection on the house shown. We tried to save the house next door as well, but the fire was progressing too rapidly. In this video I’m taking shelter behind a garden shed as the 500 gallon propane tank is venting. The heat and noise was intense. (Put on your headphones and turn the volume up to max, then go stand inside your oven to appreciate it fully). We had two lines stretched to protect the house. The idea is that we use the minimum water we can and “steer” the fire around houses as is approaches. We let the fire burn all the fuel right up to the house, put it out, suppress any embers, and move on to the next house. Water supply is always an issue. The town’s water system went down quickly and we relied on water tenders (pulling water from swimming pools). There just isn't enough water or people to put the fires out at this stage. We do what we can in those moments and move on to the next assignment. Catastrophic fires like this develop so quickly, that there is little we can do except protect people, animals, and save houses where we can. Despite losing dozens of houses in town, we made stands where we could, saving one house and the one next door. Little by little, we were able to keep the fire from wiping out the downtown. (I keep a digital camera in my radio harness. It never interferes with my job). #valleyfire #structureprotection #firedepartment #wildlandfire #fire (at Middletown, California)

[coasttomountain]

A good day for trails in Tahoe. It was the last day of the season for work on the Elevator Shaft re-route in Tahoe City. We had a great group blasting out the finishing touches for the year. Three months of trail build days and the trail is open! Those of you in the Tahoe area, please ride, hike, and run it lots before the snow flies! It was an honor to work with our dedicated group of volunteers. What we lacked in numbers, we made up for with hard work and enthusiasm. The same core group showed up week after week for free manual labor because of their love of the outdoors and desire to make our trails better. Thank you everyone! #trails #tamba @tambatahoe #tahoe #singletrack #volunteer #tambatahoe #mtb (at Tahoe City, California)

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We are all mad here! More of the amazing trailhead art and structures of Galbraith. Located on a privately owned active tree farm, none of this would be possible on public property. Just amazing. Can you imagine the bureaucracy involved in allowing volunteers to make scores of art pieces scattered throughout a forest... Sadly no pics of the trails or riding. They were just so fun we didn't want to stop riding. And who wouldn't want to ride Whoopsie Whoodle, Jack and the Beanstalk, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Wonderland, and a score of other nursery rhymes there trails in the forest. Amazing that we found Galbraith only by trying to escape the oppressive smoke blanketing the Northwest all summer. #mtb #vanlife #roadtrip #galbraith #singletrack #publicart (at Galbraith Mountain)

[coasttomountain]

For my outdoor nut MTB friends. Galbraith mountain. The most amazing riding I had never heard of. A 63-mile network of bike trails designed for maximum fun. The quality of trail building out here is amazing. Plus the views, jaw dropping bridges and structures, and trail art. OMG the trail art! (at Bellingham, Washington)

[coasttomountain]

Another of the unexpected highlight rides of our road trip- riding out to a gorgeous alpine lake and hiking out to see the wreckage of a WWII bomber crash. Tough airmen. All survived after crash landing when their flaps froze in a January storm. Survived 17 days out there before a bush pilot happened to fly over. Worth a visit. Loon Lake, north of McCall, Idaho. About 25 miles round trip. Gorgeous trip out there as well. #vanlife #roadtrip #mtb #outdoors #singletrack #mountainbike #idaho (at Idaho)

[coasttomountain]

Riding in Capitol State Forest. Mostly unearthly green with swaths of logging. Working forests are a story of contrast. Always kind of shocking to see the results of clearcutting. But I live in a wood house as do most of us. Logging is how our homes are made. #vanlife #mtb #singletrack #mountainbike #roadtrip #lush #camping #outdoors #capitolforest (at Washington)

[coasttomountain]

Another rad spot we had never heard of but visited on the recommendation of a friend. Capitol State Forest, WA. Big trees. Great MTB, hiking, running. Lush green forests mixed with the mess of logging. Working forests are an interesting experience. Unbelievably green mixed with swaths of clearcutting. #vanlife #roadtrip #capitolforest #outdoors #adventure #glamping (at Tumwater, Washington)

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After riding in haze and smoke for a few days in Ketchum the skies cleared and we headed to Galena Summit. Wow! Totally worth a visit and a couple days of riding. When we visited in 2013 Galena had just started building new trails. It was gorgeous, but rough, old school, and steep. Galena has built out 20-25 miles of purpose built MTB singletrack. Rad! Amazing views, hundreds of insloped banked corners, pumpy rollers, tabletops... Don't miss Spring Creek trail, unless you don't like 5 mile flow trails with epic mountain views. Oh, and the boondock camping in and around Senate Meadows. Also amazing. Lodge is awesome too! (at Galena Summit)

[coasttomountain]

#vandog Miss Daisy update. Daisy loves van trips. Her big white dog house has three dog beds and is stocked with snacks and food. It's great for naps and adventures. She's been feeling really good on this trip. So nice to see her bounce and play like a pup again albeit a slower pup. (at Idaho)

[coasttomountain]

Greenhorn Gulch and Red Warrior Creek. Smoke blankets the West, but we make due by slowing, not ceasing, our activities. The ridges and trees take on an ethereal quality. Still happy to be out and riding amazing trails. (at Greenhorn Mountain)

[coasttomountain]

This. This is the payoff for weeks of working on the van. Watching the moon rise while camped in a gorgeous valley somewhere in Idaho. My dream of building an off-grid bad ass campervan is realized one project at a time. Long days of working on the van have come to fruition. Hard work, wearing, bloody knuckles, overcoming technical obstacles... Now that we are on the road it all becomes worthwhile. All the sweeter now that we have a sink, hot showers, and travel in comfort- making up each new destination as we go along... #vanlife #vanlife #diycamper #diycampervan #roadtrip #idaho #sprintervan #moonrise #camping #radvanadventures (at Stanley, Idaho)

[coasttomountain]

Idaho is the land of natural hot springs. Another of the benefits of unscheduled time on road trips. We hit three different hot springs one day just traveling around and talking to locals. Got some great recommendations for undeveloped springs we would have otherwise passed by. Each had 8-10 pools of different temps. Some too hot to soak in unless the river flow was higher. #vanlife #hotsprings #roadtrip #idahohotsprings. (at Lowman, Idaho)

[coasttomountain]

One of the great things about traveling without a schedule is the unexpected places you discover. We hit Bogus Basin outside Boise for a great day of riding. Probably 3-4 big days worth of riding there. Then Jug Mountain Ranch near McCall, ID. One doesn't usually group golf and mountain biking together, but Jug has an amazing trail network! McCall ID had great trails, a beautiful lake, and a cute lakeside town. We hit the Payette Rim Trail and Bear Basin trail network. Super fun. Nearly 40 miles on the MTBs made for a long but epic day. Van trips rock! #roadtrip #vanlife #bearbasin #jugmountainranch (at McCall, Idaho)

[coasttomountain]

Blond Girl and Cute Dog on the Lake of the Sky. Tahoe. Yes, it's really like this. #tahoe #sup #standuppaddle #westshore #tahoma #springerspaniel #fitgirl (at Homewood, California)

[coasttomountain]

Happy cows! Happy spring! (at Olema, California)